Sourav Ganguly gives a sneak peek into his first book

Ganguly's book is titled as ‘A Century is Not Enough’.

Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly who has been repeatedly credited for changing the picture of Indian cricket at the turn of the century will very soon release his first book titled as ‘A Century is Not Enough’.

In his book, he has very precisely written about the various problems that he faced as a cricket and the ones which made headlines in the media. Ganguly has written about how guru-turned-foe Greg Chappell ‘didn’t exist’ for him, about former captain Anil Kumble’s strong support, and how he felt sidelined by selectors’ decision to keep testing him in matches despite scoring thousands of runs.

Describing the day of his retirement as ‘still a raw wound’, he wrote, “The events of that summer afternoon in 2008 still remain a raw wound for me. I was going for practice at Eden Gardens and had almost reached Fort William, which was just two minutes away. Suddenly my mobile rang. The caller happened to be a journalist. He had heard the news that I had been left out of the Rest of India squad, which is a clear indicator of how the selectors feel about you.”

“Me dropped? The Asian batsman and player of the year left out from a Rest of India team, I asked myself. After having scored consistently for the last three and a half years for India? But why? It can’t have been my skill as I had only failed in one series in Sri Lanka where, apart from one batsman, none of my colleagues had done well. Yet they had all got picked. I was angry. Disillusioned,” he revealed.

He spoke about Anil Kumble's constant support for him throughout his playing days. “I believed he had the courage to tell me honestly if he had been consulted. I had one more question for him. Did he still believe that his team wanted my services? Kumble’s reply consoled me. He said if it came to him taking the call, he would pick me again for the upcoming Test match selection. I heaved a great sigh of relief. There was hope after all.”

“I of course had a chat with Anil before I reached Chennai. He told me; don’t decide anything in a hurry. Give it some time. I assured him I would. But deep down I knew my time was up. I made up my mind that I would give everything I had to be successful in this series (against Australia),” Ganguly added.

Next in a very detailed way has Ganguly in his book written about the great fiasco that he has with Greg Chappel. Chappell was roped in as Team India coach as after John Wright's tenure was over post the ICC World Cup 2003.

Highlighting his treacherous relationship with Chappell, Ganguly revealed how his entire family was by his side during the time which was the lowest point of his career.

“I felt extremely agitated. That is when I told my father that I needed to call it a day. Enough was enough. My father was a bit surprised. In the past when Greg Chappell had kept me out of the team and I was desperately fighting to claw my way back, he had wanted me to retire, unable to bear his son’s struggle,” he concluded.